Originally posted by bulldoguav
Believe it or not, there are quite a few people at GM who did not want the F-body line to die, because it was the second oldest continuous line GM had, in it's current form (meaning no breaks, no change in drivetrain etc). Plus, it actually made a profit. Not much of one, but enough for GM to continue the pony wars with Mustang.

If you'll go back to 1996, you'll see that the strike by the CAW was potentially crippling to GM (they target someone every three years...in 1999 it was Chrysler). If you'll read the fine details of the agreement, GM wanted to sell their two parts plants, but they also wanted to outsource jobs because it would save them money. It has been widely speculated that GM wanted to move the F-body to a multi-use platform since the mid 90s. But if they did that, they would have to ship these platforms, or build them at Ste. Therese. So, they made a deal that they wouldn't outsource jobs, but they could sell their parts plants. The deal also stipulated that the people who went with the plants would recieve their current pay and current pensions for three and nine years respectively. But the deal also lets GM close the plant if the model is discontinued. Now most people know that the deal with the Ste. Therese plant specifically states the word 'Camaro' in the contract. Any vehicle with this namesake in a certain period of time would default assembly to that plant and it's workers. And if GM decided to not let that plant build the Camaro, there would be XXX money due to the CAW and the workers who worked at and supported Ste. Therese.

Taken directly from gmcanada.com website:


Now it's common knowledge that the Sigma plant is in Lansing, MI. Now I'm just theorizing here, but it is entirely possible GM has been planning this ever since 1996. Why not boost the economies of local Michigan towns GM has decimated with layoffs the last ten years? You can kick a dog, but as long as you give it food it will always love you. GM swoops back in with the American-made Camaro, built alongside, or near the Sigma plant. GM had long wanted to pull ou of Ste. Therese for the simple fact that it was in Quebec. Quebec is a very fickle state, and the laws there are somewhat unusual and in a state of flux. A lot of the people who worked at ST have been offered to build the Equinox (I forget where it's being built).

Now, getting back to that contract signed in 1996. This is just assumption here, but from hearing what some inside sources have said (putting two and two together sometimes equals five), it is not too far fetched what I am getting at. The agreement signed in 1996 stipulated workers who went with the new owners of the parts plants. I am hypothesising that the contract with ST and the Camaro was about the same length of time, due to expire towards the end of 2005, beginning of 2006. GM could cancel the production, but no other production was to take place until the contract expired. And seeing as how GM wanted to consolidate on a new platform (yet to be developed at the time), it is entirely plausible that GM would kill the car once the primary contract with the workers at Ste expired in 2002. (The updated design was already being finalized, and GM wanted to put it to the market in 1997).

Now filling in the blanks, you get to where I have gotten. My theory is the Camaro will come back in 2006 as a 2006.5 or 2007 on the Sigma platform, and be built in Michigan. I'd theorize on engine and drivetrain combos, but this is over two years down the road. I'm not as updated on engine design at GM as I'd like to be.


I think I'll be quiet now....I think I hear those black helicopters nearby...

According to the contract, GM is not supposed to outsource to contractors hundreds of jobs as they had planned. But GM officials said the agreement allows the automaker to reduce the number of workers it employs because of changes in technology, productivity gains, a market share decline, or if a certain product line is discontinued...

...At the Ste-Thérese plant here which makes the Camaro and Firebird sports cars, half of the 2,900 CAW members have been laid off for the past year with only one shift operating. Obligatory overtime of up to 50 hours a week has helped GM avoid calling back workers. The Ste-Thérese plant is the only auto assembly plant in Quebec. The Quebec government granted GM a $220-million interest free loan to keep the plant open in 1987. The car maker has also benefited from tax breaks estimated at more than $100 million.